What to know about the conflict between Israel and Iran, and the US intervention
ATHENS, Greece — The United States inserted itself into Israel's war against Iran, bombing three of the Islamic Republic's key nuclear sites overnight. U.S. President Donald Trump asserted that the sites were 'completely and fully obliterated,' and warned there would be additional strikes if Iran retaliates.
The U.S. strikes came after a week of open conflict between Israel and Iran, sparked by Israel's sudden barrage of attacks against Iran's nuclear and military structure.
US strikes 3 Iranian nuclear sites, inserting itself into Israel's war with IranIsraeli strikes began on June 13. Targeting Iranian military and nuclear sites, they killed several top military officials and nuclear scientists. Iran retaliated by firing hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel, some of which penetrated the country's vaunted multi-tiered air defense system. The war so far has killed hundreds of people and wounded more than 1,000 in Iran and killed two dozen and wounded hundreds in Israel.
Iran insists its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes. But Israel views it as an existential threat and has said its military campaign is necessary to prevent Iran from building an atomic weapon.
Although U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that Tehran is not actively pursuing a bomb, Trump and Israeli leaders have argued it could quickly assemble a nuclear weapon, making it an imminent threat.
The region has been on edge for the past two years as Israel seeks to annihilate the Hamas militant group, an Iranian ally, in the Gaza Strip, where war still rages after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.
Here's what to know about the conflict between Israel and Iran, and the United States' intervention:
Trump announced the overnight 'massive precision strikes' on Iran's Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites in a televised address to the nation from the White House. Describing them as 'a spectacular military success,' he said they had 'completely and fully obliterated' the nuclear sites. Iran, he said, would now have to make peace.
Iran's Atomic Energy Organization confirmed the attacks, but insisted its nuclear program will not be stopped. Iran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said there were no immediate signs of radioactive contamination at the three locations following the strikes.
The nuclear fuel enrichment site at Fordo is buried deep beneath a mountain, and the attack against it used bunker-buster bombs designed to penetrate the ground before exploding, a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations. Only the United States has the 30,000-pound (13,600-kilogram) munition and the stealth bombers used to deliver them.
Trump warned there would be additional strikes if Tehran retaliated against U.S. forces, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Trump's decision to attack.
Iran launched a barrage of missiles against Israel overnight and into Sunday, with Israeli authorities reporting that more than 80 people were wounded, the vast majority of them lightly.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the time for diplomacy had passed and his country had the right to defend itself.
'The warmongering, a lawless administration in Washington is solely and fully responsible for the dangerous consequences and far-reaching implications of its act of aggression,' he said in a news conference in Istanbul. 'They crossed a very big red line by attacking nuclear facilities.'
How Tehran might retaliate remains unclear, but an Iranian response could mean a wave of attacks on U.S. forces in the Middle East, an attempt to close a key bottleneck for global oil supplies or a dash to develop a nuclear weapon.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was 'gravely alarmed' by the United States' use of force, and called the strikes a 'dangerous escalation.' World leaders issued calls for diplomacy.
'There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control — with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region and the world,' Guterres said in a statement on X. 'I call on Member States to de-escalate.'
Nations react to US strikes on Iran with many calling for diplomacyThe European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, but urged restraint.
'I urge all sides to step back, return to the negotiating table and prevent further escalation,' she said in a social media post. Kallas will chair a meeting of the 27-nation bloc's foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday, with the Israel-Iran war high on the agenda.
Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, who had threatened to resume attacks on U.S. vessels in the Red Sea if the Trump administration joined Israel's military campaign, called on other Muslim nations to form 'one front against the Zionist-American arrogance.'
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had warned the U.S. on Wednesday that strikes against Iran would 'result in irreparable damage for them.'
The Israeli military said Saturday it was preparing for the possibility of a lengthy war, while Iran's foreign minister warned before the U.S. attack that American military involvement 'would be very, very dangerous for everyone.'
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CNN
32 minutes ago
- CNN
Strike US assets, disrupt global trade, race for a bomb: How will Iran respond to Trump's attacks?
US President Donald Trump's decision to strike Iran's nuclear facilities puts the Middle East in a volatile position, with all eyes now on Tehran's next move. Speaking in Istanbul, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday his country has 'a variety of options' when deciding how to respond to the US attacks. From striking US bases in the region, to possibly closing a key waterway to global shipping, Iran is likely mulling its next moves. All carry inherent risks for the Islamic Republic, Israel and the United States. Here's what to know: Direct US involvement in the conflict could see Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) activate what remains of its proxies across Iraq, Yemen and Syria, groups which have previously launched attacks on American assets in the region. While Iran's strongest ally in the region was once Lebanon's Hezbollah, that group has been significantly weakened by Israeli attacks. The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) says the US maintains a presence at 19 sites in total across the region, with eight of those considered by analysts to have a permanent US presence. As of June 13, the CFR estimated some 40,000 US troops were in the Middle East. In Iraq, for example, there were 2,500 US troops as of late last year. An Iranian attack on these forces is not inconceivable. In 2020, an Iranian missile attack on a US garrison left more than 100 soldiers with traumatic brain injuries. The Iranians have said 'several times' that if the US 'joins this war and attacks their nuclear facilities, they will retaliate against US forces in the region, against US interests, and there are a lot of those,' CNN political and global affairs analyst Barak Ravid said. A resurgence of attacks from Yemen against US assets is already on the table. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels previously vowed to attack American ships in the Red Sea should the US join Israel's conflict with Iran. A prominent Houthi official said in a social media post early Sunday that 'Trump must bear the consequences' of the US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. It is unclear if this marks the end of a US-Houthi ceasefire struck in May, in which Washington said it would halt its military campaign against the Houthis in exchange for the group stopping its attacks on US interests in the region. Knowing that it can't outright win a conflict against Israel and the US, experts have said that Tehran could seek to engage in a war of attrition, where it tries to exhaust its adversary's will or capacity to fight in a drawn-out and damaging conflict, which Trump at the outset of his presidency said he wanted to avoid. Iran also has the power to influence the 'entire commercial shipping in the Gulf,' Ravid said, should it decide to close the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping route. There have so far been no material disruptions to the global flow of oil. But if oil exports are disrupted, or if Iran tries to block the Strait of Hormuz, the global oil market could face an existential crisis. The strait links the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and is a key channel for oil and liquefied natural gas exports from the Middle East to the global market. About 20 million barrels of oil flow through the strait each day, according to the US Energy Information Administration. A prominent adviser to Iran's supreme leader has already called for missile strikes and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. 'Following America's attack on the Fordow nuclear installation, it is now our turn,' warned Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor-in-chief of the hardline Kayhan newspaper, a well-known conservative voice who has previously identified himself as a Khamenei 'representative.' Geographic leverage over global shipping gives Iran the 'capacity to cause a shock in oil markets, drive up oil prices, drive inflation, collapse Trump's economic agenda,' Mohammad Ali Shabani, an Iran expert and editor of the Amwaj news outlet, told CNN. Some experts say that Iran is very likely to race for a nuclear bomb now, even if the current regime collapses and new leaders come in place. 'Trump just guaranteed that Iran will be a nuclear weapons state in the next 5 to 10 years,' Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute in Washington, DC, said on X. 'Particularly if the regime changes.' Parsi has said that even if the regime collapses and new military elements assume power, they are likely to be much more hawkish than the current regime and race toward a nuclear weapon as their only deterrent. Experts have previously said that Iran likely moved its stocks of enriched uranium from its key nuclear facilities amid Israeli strikes.. Nuclear power plants that generate electricity for civil purposes use uranium that is enriched to between 3.5% and 5%. When enriched to higher levels, uranium can be used to make a bomb Israel and the US accuse Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons; Tehran insists its program is peaceful. Iran is also likely to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, or the NPT, under which it has pledged not to develop a bomb. 'Iran's response is likely not just limited to military retaliation. NPT withdrawal is quite likely,' Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group, said on X. Iran's first response to the US' attack on its nuclear sites was to attack Israel, not US bases. Iranian missiles hit a group of buildings in Tel Aviv, where 86 people were admitted to hospital with injuries overnight and on Sunday morning, according to Israel's ministry of health. Knowing it may not be able to sustain a full-on confrontation with the US, and hoping that Trump will scale back on his involvement following Sunday's strike, Iran may merely seek to perpetuate the status quo, fighting only Israel. Trump may follow the same playbook as in the 2020 attack that killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, Shabani told CNN's Becky Anderson. Trump at the time wanted to 'send a big message, get the headlines, show US resolve, but then avoid a wider war,' Shabani said. While Iran may feel it has to retaliate to save face, it may be a bloodless response, similar to what happened in 2020, when it launched a barrage of missiles at US bases in Iraq, which resulted in traumatic brain injuries to personnel but no deaths. Two military analysts have said Iran could resort to 'asymmetric' measures – such as terrorism or cyberattacks – to retaliate against the US because Israeli attacks have reduced Iran's military capabilities. 'I think the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) is probably trying to figure out what capabilities it has left' as its missile stockpile dwindles, said CNN national security analyst David Sanger. 'I think (the IRGC is) going to be a little bit careful, and I suspect that's going to take us to all of the asymmetric things they can do: cyber, terrorism. I think that they're probably going to be looking for things where the US cannot just put up the traditional defenses,' he added. Similarly, retired Maj. Gen. James 'Spider' Marks, head of geopolitical strategy at Academy Securities, an investment bank, told CNN that Israel 'did a pretty good job of damaging Iran's capacity to launch its rather robust missile inventory.' But, 'albeit wounded,' the IRGC still has 'some tremendous capacity,' he said. 'It has capabilities that are already within the region and then outside the region. We are vulnerable… around the world, where the IRGC has either influence or can make things happen asymmetrically.' Iran has refused to return to the negotiating table while under Israeli attacks. On Sunday, Araghchi said he does not know how 'much room is left for diplomacy' after the US military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. 'They crossed a very big red line by attacking nuclear facilities. … We have to respond based on our legitimate right for self-defense,' Araghchi said. Parsi said that by doing so, 'the Iranians have cornered themselves.' 'Their aim is to force Trump to stop Netanyahu's war, and by that show his ability and willingness to use American leverage against Netanyahu,' Parsi wrote. 'But the flip side is that Tehran has given Israel a veto on US-Iran diplomacy – by simply continuing the war, Israel is enabled to block talks between the US and Iran.' Iranian and European officials met Friday in Geneva for talks, which an Iranian source said started out tense but became 'much more positive.' Speaking Sunday, Araghchi said the US had decided to 'blow up' diplomacy. 'Last week, we were in negotiations with the US when Israel decided to blow up that diplomacy. This week, we held talks with the E3 (group of European ministers)/EU when the US decided to blow up that diplomacy,' Araghchi said on X. Vaez, of the International Crisis Group, told CNN's Christiane Amanpour that the 'Iranians were reluctant to negotiate with a gun to their head, and that gun has already been triggered. 'The more likely situation is that the talks are over for now.' CNN's Eve Brennan, Brad Lendon and Mostafa Salem contributed reporting.
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Flights to and from Dubai cancelled after US air strikes on Iran
Flights to Dubai and Doha have been cancelled following the US strikes on Iran. The decision comes after Donald Trump ordered US air strikes on three of Iran's nuclear sites. Though not actively involved, the UK Government was briefed before the strikes which saw B-2 stealth bombers and submarine-launched missiles in use. In efforts to calm tensions, the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary David Lammy had attempted to dissuade the US from aligning with Israel's strikes on Iran, advocating for a move towards de-escalation and diplomatic talks. Nevertheless, President Trump proceeded with the strikes, asserting they had completely destroyed pivotal nuclear facilities. In a Pentagon press briefing today it was announced that 14 bunker-busting bombs were dropped across two of the sites. READ MORE: Road closed as five people rushed to hospital after crash READ MORE: I won't divorce my Egyptian toyboy husband but I wish I'd never met him Before the strikes took place, British Airways (BA) flight from London Gatwick to Dubai was diverted to Zurich Saturday night. The BA109 flight departed from the UK at 9.53pm on Saturday and reached Saudi Arabia before the Boeing 787 Dreamliner changed its course, landing in Switzerland, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24. All of the airline's flights to Dubai and Doha that were scheduled to depart from Heathrow on Sunday have been cancelled, including return flights, the company said. Israel announced on Sunday that it had closed its airspace to both inbound and outbound flights in the wake of the US attacks. The US struck three nuclear sites in Iran overnight prompting Tehran to launch a retaliatory ballistic missile barrage against Israel. In a statement, British Airways said: 'As a result of recent events, we have adjusted our flight schedule to ensure the safety of our customers and crew, which is always our top priority. 'We are contacting our customers to advise them of their options while we work through this developing situation.' BA is offering a flexible booking policy for customers already booked onto flights to Dubai and Doha between Sunday and Tuesday who wish to change their dates of travel. According to Gatwick's website, flights to and from the airport to Doha and Dubai are continuing as scheduled. For the latest news and breaking news visit Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you. Join the Liverpool ECHO Breaking News and Top Stories WhatsApp community to receive the latest news straight to your phone by clicking here.
CNN
35 minutes ago
- CNN
Strike US assets, disrupt global trade, race for a bomb: How will Iran respond to Trump's attacks?
US President Donald Trump's decision to strike Iran's nuclear facilities puts the Middle East in a volatile position, with all eyes now on Tehran's next move. Speaking in Istanbul, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday his country has 'a variety of options' when deciding how to respond to the US attacks. From striking US bases in the region, to possibly closing a key waterway to global shipping, Iran is likely mulling its next moves. All carry inherent risks for the Islamic Republic, Israel and the United States. Here's what to know: Direct US involvement in the conflict could see Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) activate what remains of its proxies across Iraq, Yemen and Syria, groups which have previously launched attacks on American assets in the region. While Iran's strongest ally in the region was once Lebanon's Hezbollah, that group has been significantly weakened by Israeli attacks. The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) says the US maintains a presence at 19 sites in total across the region, with eight of those considered by analysts to have a permanent US presence. As of June 13, the CFR estimated some 40,000 US troops were in the Middle East. In Iraq, for example, there were 2,500 US troops as of late last year. An Iranian attack on these forces is not inconceivable. In 2020, an Iranian missile attack on a US garrison left more than 100 soldiers with traumatic brain injuries. The Iranians have said 'several times' that if the US 'joins this war and attacks their nuclear facilities, they will retaliate against US forces in the region, against US interests, and there are a lot of those,' CNN political and global affairs analyst Barak Ravid said. A resurgence of attacks from Yemen against US assets is already on the table. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels previously vowed to attack American ships in the Red Sea should the US join Israel's conflict with Iran. A prominent Houthi official said in a social media post early Sunday that 'Trump must bear the consequences' of the US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. It is unclear if this marks the end of a US-Houthi ceasefire struck in May, in which Washington said it would halt its military campaign against the Houthis in exchange for the group stopping its attacks on US interests in the region. Knowing that it can't outright win a conflict against Israel and the US, experts have said that Tehran could seek to engage in a war of attrition, where it tries to exhaust its adversary's will or capacity to fight in a drawn-out and damaging conflict, which Trump at the outset of his presidency said he wanted to avoid. Iran also has the power to influence the 'entire commercial shipping in the Gulf,' Ravid said, should it decide to close the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping route. There have so far been no material disruptions to the global flow of oil. But if oil exports are disrupted, or if Iran tries to block the Strait of Hormuz, the global oil market could face an existential crisis. The strait links the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and is a key channel for oil and liquefied natural gas exports from the Middle East to the global market. About 20 million barrels of oil flow through the strait each day, according to the US Energy Information Administration. A prominent adviser to Iran's supreme leader has already called for missile strikes and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. 'Following America's attack on the Fordow nuclear installation, it is now our turn,' warned Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor-in-chief of the hardline Kayhan newspaper, a well-known conservative voice who has previously identified himself as a Khamenei 'representative.' Geographic leverage over global shipping gives Iran the 'capacity to cause a shock in oil markets, drive up oil prices, drive inflation, collapse Trump's economic agenda,' Mohammad Ali Shabani, an Iran expert and editor of the Amwaj news outlet, told CNN. Some experts say that Iran is very likely to race for a nuclear bomb now, even if the current regime collapses and new leaders come in place. 'Trump just guaranteed that Iran will be a nuclear weapons state in the next 5 to 10 years,' Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute in Washington, DC, said on X. 'Particularly if the regime changes.' Parsi has said that even if the regime collapses and new military elements assume power, they are likely to be much more hawkish than the current regime and race toward a nuclear weapon as their only deterrent. Experts have previously said that Iran likely moved its stocks of enriched uranium from its key nuclear facilities amid Israeli strikes.. Nuclear power plants that generate electricity for civil purposes use uranium that is enriched to between 3.5% and 5%. When enriched to higher levels, uranium can be used to make a bomb Israel and the US accuse Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons; Tehran insists its program is peaceful. Iran is also likely to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, or the NPT, under which it has pledged not to develop a bomb. 'Iran's response is likely not just limited to military retaliation. NPT withdrawal is quite likely,' Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group, said on X. Iran's first response to the US' attack on its nuclear sites was to attack Israel, not US bases. Iranian missiles hit a group of buildings in Tel Aviv, where 86 people were admitted to hospital with injuries overnight and on Sunday morning, according to Israel's ministry of health. Knowing it may not be able to sustain a full-on confrontation with the US, and hoping that Trump will scale back on his involvement following Sunday's strike, Iran may merely seek to perpetuate the status quo, fighting only Israel. Trump may follow the same playbook as in the 2020 attack that killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, Shabani told CNN's Becky Anderson. Trump at the time wanted to 'send a big message, get the headlines, show US resolve, but then avoid a wider war,' Shabani said. While Iran may feel it has to retaliate to save face, it may be a bloodless response, similar to what happened in 2020, when it launched a barrage of missiles at US bases in Iraq, which resulted in traumatic brain injuries to personnel but no deaths. Two military analysts have said Iran could resort to 'asymmetric' measures – such as terrorism or cyberattacks – to retaliate against the US because Israeli attacks have reduced Iran's military capabilities. 'I think the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) is probably trying to figure out what capabilities it has left' as its missile stockpile dwindles, said CNN national security analyst David Sanger. 'I think (the IRGC is) going to be a little bit careful, and I suspect that's going to take us to all of the asymmetric things they can do: cyber, terrorism. I think that they're probably going to be looking for things where the US cannot just put up the traditional defenses,' he added. Similarly, retired Maj. Gen. James 'Spider' Marks, head of geopolitical strategy at Academy Securities, an investment bank, told CNN that Israel 'did a pretty good job of damaging Iran's capacity to launch its rather robust missile inventory.' But, 'albeit wounded,' the IRGC still has 'some tremendous capacity,' he said. 'It has capabilities that are already within the region and then outside the region. We are vulnerable… around the world, where the IRGC has either influence or can make things happen asymmetrically.' Iran has refused to return to the negotiating table while under Israeli attacks. On Sunday, Araghchi said he does not know how 'much room is left for diplomacy' after the US military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. 'They crossed a very big red line by attacking nuclear facilities. … We have to respond based on our legitimate right for self-defense,' Araghchi said. Parsi said that by doing so, 'the Iranians have cornered themselves.' 'Their aim is to force Trump to stop Netanyahu's war, and by that show his ability and willingness to use American leverage against Netanyahu,' Parsi wrote. 'But the flip side is that Tehran has given Israel a veto on US-Iran diplomacy – by simply continuing the war, Israel is enabled to block talks between the US and Iran.' Iranian and European officials met Friday in Geneva for talks, which an Iranian source said started out tense but became 'much more positive.' Speaking Sunday, Araghchi said the US had decided to 'blow up' diplomacy. 'Last week, we were in negotiations with the US when Israel decided to blow up that diplomacy. This week, we held talks with the E3 (group of European ministers)/EU when the US decided to blow up that diplomacy,' Araghchi said on X. Vaez, of the International Crisis Group, told CNN's Christiane Amanpour that the 'Iranians were reluctant to negotiate with a gun to their head, and that gun has already been triggered. 'The more likely situation is that the talks are over for now.' CNN's Eve Brennan, Brad Lendon and Mostafa Salem contributed reporting.
